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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in their Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 140 Stories

A Life-Changing Connection

As a shy, single mother of one, with one on the way, Sydney Hysell described her situation as being “… in a bad relationship, and we were living in a shack that we could have been kicked out of at any time.” She wondered if she would ever be able to have a normal life with safe… [Read More]
HomeownershipHousing
Amanda and her family in front of their new home

A Single Mom's Road to Homeownership

As a single mother raising two little boys in Kalispell Mont., Amanda D. wanted to purchase a home for her family. But, with a modest income and skyrocketing housing costs, this dream seemed to be out of reach. "Trying to buy a home with any traditional mortgage, it would just… [Read More]
Homeownership

Family with No Previous Building Experience Builds Self-Help Home in 8 Months, Despite Family Health Crisis

In Salem, Utah, Joseph, and Alyssa Thornton are parents of a young growing family of five and have more than their fair share of daily challenges. Despite their challenges, the Thornton’s participated in the USDA Rural Development’s Mutual Self-Help program, building their home… [Read More]
Homeownership
The Hodgdon Family stand on their front porch

Homeownership Keeps Family Close to Their Coastal Heritage

Thanks to the USDA Rural Development Single-Family Direct Housing Program, the Hodgdon family has an affordable home they love in Boothbay Harbor, a community their family has lived in for generations. Jacob Hodgdon, his fiancé Shelby, and their two children Graycin, age five,… [Read More]
Homeownership
The LaRue Family sits on the steps of their new home

Oh Baby! Homeownership Dreams Do Come True

Little eleven-month-old Katie LaRue will never remember the struggles of her family to find the perfect home in rural Maine. She will grow up with her own room and a large yard to play in. For her Mom, Monique, Dad, Jesse, and her four siblings, they will always appreciate how… [Read More]
Homeownership

Homeownership is “Life Changing” for Cherryfield Woman

There is nothing quite like the glow of a proud new homeowner. For Kate McGowan, her new home in Cherryfield is everything she ever dreamed of. Kate, whose life’s journey has taken her from far Northern Maine where she was born, thousands of miles away to California, and back… [Read More]
Homeownership
Sherry Parker poses for a photo by the construction of her new home in Northern Calirfornia. Parker lost her home during the devastation of the Camp Fire in 2018. (USDA Courtesy Photo)

Rural Development helps family find home after Camp Fire

Sherry Parker was single mother to three children when devastation rained down. California’s Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history, and the most expensive natural disaster in the world in 2018 in terms of insured losses, devoured their… [Read More]
Homeownership
Amelia Smith is building her own home through the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program.

I Built a Future With My Own Hands

Amelia Smith is building her first home through the USDA Rural Development's Mutual Self-Help program in collaboration with Six County Association of Governments (SEAULG), which improves local government coordination of mutually beneficial programs where she lives in Sevier,… [Read More]
Homeownership
A picture of Amber and her family in front of the house they built

The Home that Friends Built

As a single mother of two, Amber W. works as a youth counselor, a YMCA fitness instructor, and a dance instructor for children and adults with disabilities in Helena, Mont.  Amber had long dreamed of becoming a homeowner and, in 2021, her vision came to fruition through a… [Read More]
Homeownership

Straw Bale Homes More Than a Dirt-Cheap Option

In Moab, Utah, Community Rebuilds literally takes dirt-cheap sustainable, highly energy-efficient materials to build affordable homes. With assistance from USDA Rural Development’s Mutual Self-Help program, individuals can apply to build a natural self-help home. After a… [Read More]
Homeownership

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